#notes banning

[marvelsmostwanted]

There are people – some in my own Party – who think that if you just give Donald Trump everything he wants, he’ll make an exception and spare you some of the harm. I’ll ignore the moral abdication of that position for just a second to say — almost none of those people have the experience with this President that I do. I once swallowed my pride to offer him what he values most — public praise on the Sunday news shows — in return for ventilators and N95 masks during the worst of the pandemic. We made a deal. And it turns out his promises were as broken as the BIPAP machines he sent us instead of ventilators. Going along to get along does not work – just ask the Trump-fearing red state Governors who are dealing with the same cuts that we are. I won’t be fooled twice.

I’ve been reflecting, these past four weeks, on two important parts of my life: my work helping to build the Illinois Holocaust Museum and the two times I’ve had the privilege of reciting the oath of office for Illinois Governor.

As some of you know, Skokie, Illinois once had one of the largest populations of Holocaust survivors anywhere in the world. In 1978, Nazis decided they wanted to march there.

The leaders of that march knew that the images of Swastika clad young men goose stepping down a peaceful suburban street would terrorize the local Jewish population – so many of whom had never recovered from their time in German concentration camps.

The prospect of that march sparked a legal fight that went all the way to the Supreme Court. It was a Jewish lawyer from the ACLU who argued the case for the Nazis – contending that even the most hateful of speech was protected under the first amendment.

As an American and a Jew, I find it difficult to resolve my feelings around that Supreme Court case – but I am grateful that the prospect of Nazis marching in their streets spurred the survivors and other Skokie residents to act. They joined together to form the Holocaust Memorial Foundation and built the first Illinois Holocaust Museum in a storefront in 1981 – a small but important forerunner to the one I helped build thirty years later.

I do not invoke the specter of Nazis lightly. But I know the history intimately — and have spent more time than probably anyone in this room with people who survived the Holocaust. Here’s what I’ve learned – the root that tears apart your house’s foundation begins as a seed – a seed of distrust and hate and blame.

The seed that grew into a dictatorship in Europe a lifetime ago didn’t arrive overnight. It started with everyday Germans mad about inflation and looking for someone to blame.

I’m watching with a foreboding dread what is happening in our country right now. A president who watches a plane go down in the Potomac – and suggests — without facts or findings — that a diversity hire is responsible for the crash. Or the Missouri Attorney General who just sued Starbucks – arguing that consumers pay higher prices for their coffee because the baristas are too “female” and “nonwhite.” The authoritarian playbook is laid bare here: They point to a group of people who don’t look like you and tell you to blame them for your problems.

I just have one question: What comes next? After we’ve discriminated against, deported or disparaged all the immigrants and the gay and lesbian and transgender people, the developmentally disabled, the women and the minorities – once we’ve ostracized our neighbors and betrayed our friends – After that, when the problems we started with are still there staring us in the face – what comes next.

All the atrocities of human history lurk in the answer to that question. And if we don’t want to repeat history – then for God’s sake in this moment we better be strong enough to learn from it.

I swore the following oath on Abraham Lincoln’s Bible: “I do solemnly swear that I will support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the state of Illinois, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of Governor .... according to the best of my ability.

My oath is to the Constitution of our state and of our country. We don’t have kings in America – and I don’t intend to bend the knee to one. I am not speaking up in service to my ambitions — but in deference to my obligations.

If you think I’m overreacting and sounding the alarm too soon, consider this:

It took the Nazis one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic. All I’m saying is when the five-alarm fire starts to burn, every good person better be ready to man a post with a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control.

Those Illinois Nazis did end up holding their march in 1978 – just not in Skokie. After all the blowback from the case, they decided to march in Chicago instead. Only twenty of them showed up. But 2000 people came to counter protest. The Chicago Tribune reported that day that the “rally sputtered to an unspectacular end after ten minutes.” It was Illinoisans who smothered those embers before they could burn into a flame.

Tyranny requires your fear and your silence and your compliance. Democracy requires your courage. So gather your justice and humanity, Illinois, and do not let the “tragic spirit of despair” overcome us when our country needs us the most.

Sources:

• NBC Chicago & J.B. Pritzker, Democratic governor of Illinois, State of the State address 2025: Watch speech here | Full text

• Betches News on Instagram (screencaps)

[things-are-heating-up]

I think the funniest part about the migration from tiktok to rednote is how americans are like "oh my gosh, our government lied to us, you guys are the same as us!" and chinese are like "holy shit, our government didn't lie to us, you really do live like this, i'm so sorry"

[salvadorbonaparte]

"tiktok has massive problems that even if you don't agree with a complete ban have to be addressed for all social media platforms" and "the Chinese government is doing pretty awful things" and "there is a lot of sinophobic fearmongering and double standards in the conversation about tiktok" and "people should exercise basic caution signing up to foreign or domestic social media" and "most Chinese citizens like US citizens are just people living their life and cultural exchange between them can be beneficial for both sides" and "some people being on the same social media site isn't going to solve everything " and "I want to study the linguistics happening there under a microscope" are opinions that can coexist

[theespaceace]

“man, what a year” i say as its only been 12 days into january

[geminisee]

i’ve been very much enjoying my time on rednote so far 🧱

[welldamn-thisishard]

Since I've been a little child I have been told that Chinese would become one of the most important languages and that I should learn it etc. This is why it's so funny that Chinese is becoming so much more important, not because of the work force, no, but because tiktok will be banned and people were like "aight, bet" and downloaded rednote, a clearly Chinese app

Humanity has always been petty and I live for it

[cassidyobassidy]

Im starting to download this Red Note app or Xiaohongshu (ive heard it called the little red book lol)! This is just one interaction ive seen so far, and im loving it!

[sunnypopoki]

They didn’t even wait until the 19th to ban TikTok. Honestly I hope people realize how big this situation is. TikTok was a news outlet for a lot of Americans who couldn’t get proper news and information (especially when their own news stations are just propaganda and fake news we don’t need to hear), it was also a home to many small businesses and people just trying to make a living. The US government is NOT banning it because of “data” or whatever shit they made up—they are banning it to control the masses and more than just that. This is bullshit.

[moonlit-bedrooms]

If this ban hasn’t radicalized you; you’re not paying close enough attention.

Personally? I’m seething from it. It’s all propaganda.

Our government can’t agree on anything until it comes to making sure the rich stay rich and the people stay powerless and unable to assemble.

They can’t agree on healthcare or banning guns in the interest of their people, but a damn app? They’re worried about class consciousness.

They know they’re taking away our power, our ability to organize, move, stay informed, and educated.

And all so trump can swoop in and play the hero, even though he’s responsible for starting this 4ish years ago.

He’s trying to influence an entire generation to adore him. Don’t fall for it.

And not to mention- it wasn’t brought back for free, someone like musk or zuck will own it soon, and there are already changes to the platform to push a right wing agenda.

He admitted on live national television that musk rigged the election for him. And the mainstream media? Silence.

Musk did a fucking nazi solute on national television. And once again; silence from our media.

Wake the fuck up. Please, I’m begging everyone.

We’re stuck in an oligarchy turning on fascism but no one takes these things seriously when it’s a slow boil until the temperature of the water is too hot to save yourself.

[fossilized-beetle]

Obviously the idea that Chinese people are some “others” and only realizing after downloading Xiaohongshu they’re Just Human Beings is bad, but I think the fact that people are learning is more important. Embarrassing, sure, but did you want them to live in a bubble forever? Is directly interacting with Chinese people on an unlocalized app not such a beautiful and fun way to learn about the world, free of American propaganda?

And it all came about because the US Government is banning TikTok due to fear of """Chinese spies"""… and now, faster than ever, Americans are forming friendships with Chinese folks. Amazing stuff, truly.

[mistressemmedi]

Maybe if Nelson Piquet said "fuck" then FIA would take a more harsh stance on his presence in the paddock

[eulaties]

general thoughts about the 2025 小红书 boom

i feel like we're at a really interesting point in time right now, particularly in regards to the shift in american consciousness + changing world order, so i thought it would be fitting to document my thoughts about the xhs situation as a chinese american. however, please note this post is NOT speaking on behalf of any community, and i am only speaking to my own personal opinions.

the good

american propaganda is getting dismantled in real time. there's so much cross-cultural communication right now in relation to america's political issues, everyday life, and what china is really like

im already seeing people starting to learn the language, becoming interested in visiting china, etc. and i truly haven't seen this kind of mass interest in chinese culture in a long time

to be precise, the last time there was really "chinese soft power" in america was during the mid-to-late 2000s. notably this time period included the 2008 beijing olympics which was monumental for china on the global stage, as it showcased their prosperity, openness ("北京欢迎你"), and equal footing in the modern world. ive seen people compare the xhs phenomenon to this event and while both are drastically different, i do think this is an apt comparison (though obviously this xhs thing is on a muchhh smaller scale...)

so many new friendships and connections are being made!

the bad

to add on to what op said, theres definitely a difference between just generally understanding that as diaspora, most people around you will hold sinophobic views about china and chinese people VERSUS actually having empirical evidence that most normal people didn't see chinese people as human before. its jarring to say the least. like everyone is praising chinese people on xhs now, but just last week everyone was fearmongering about us?? really reminds you that in the eyes of the public, favor for any asian culture (and by extension, its people) is fleeting and will often change easily with the season

and yes, its definitely weird to see people talk about chinese people as if they've never seen a chinese person in america before. like obviously there's a HUGE difference between mainlanders and diaspora, but there's also international students that come to america to study so... ??

the memes are funny, and i like how the people on xhs are playing along with them, but something about the "chinese spy" memes rubs me the wrong way. tbh, most mainlanders actually have a positive view of westerners and america, and if they don't study abroad themselves or know anyone that went abroad, they will never truly understand what it's like to be discriminated against simply for being chinese (there's a difference between knowing and understanding ofc; not saying that they're ignorant & don't know anything lol). this is just the honest truth, just like how i'll never understand what it's like to live and grow up in mainland china since im diaspora. anyways, i kind of question if mainlanders are actually aware of the loaded context behind those words. while americans are using the "chinese spy" memes as jokes now in reference to why tiktok is getting banned, it doesn't change the fact that many other americans truly do believe that there is mass chinese surveilliance/planted chinese spies in america (i.e., see modern-day mccarthyism, like how chinese researchers are often stripped of their titles/reputations, interrogated, and then silently deported). like language and framing does matter, and it has actually affected chinese people in america, but now you guys are treating it like a joke?

anyways, even with all of the bad there's still overwhelming good that has come out of this, and i do feel like its better to be more positive than negative about these things in the long run! who knows where tomorrow will take us but at the very least i hope everyone actively continues pissing off the american government 💖 amen

[s3znl-gr3znl]

Imagine you're a government that does so poorly at everything that years of propaganda and millions of dollars are essentially wasted because you decided to take away an app during a class war. And now your citizens are communicating DIRECTLY with your adversaries, worse yet they're making friends and exchanging culture and language like never before.

Personally, i would resign.

[heritageposts]

seriously, what the fuck is this about?

they've just outright banned the tag for an indian state that's home to over 34 million people

[cat-chthesehands]

im not on red note cos i wanna heal myself from the chaos tiktok has wrought on my brain but im SO fucking enchanted with the camaraderie of humanity. Learning each others languages, sharing memes, swapping pet photos...

they cant keep us scared if we go and see for ourselves. go, Tiktok, and put america's best foot forward 😊

[netscapenavigator-official]

RedNote making Americans realize just how much anti-China propaganda their government has fed them is great, but Chinese citizens realizing just how little anti-USA propaganda their government has fed them is actually so much funnier.